Human
by Suicidal Mickey Mouse
Summary: A case causes Nancy to reevaluate things, and a vacation with the Hardys becomes the solution. Will it lead to anything else? A mystery? A relationship? Both?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, and all of the characters associated with them do not belong to me.

Author's Notes: I got back into the swing of my childhood memories of writing Nancy Drew stuff again, and this is what came out of it.

Dr. Joe-Tell Him Your Problems, He'll Read You a Fortune Cookie

Joe Hardy lazily flipped through the channels. It was a rainy Saturday night, and here he was, alone. He finally settled on some channel's showing of Grease. Yes, Joe Hardy was feeling ultimately pathetic. Saturday night, and Vanessa was out of town. It seemed that everyone else in the town of Bayport had a date…including his parents. Rather than go along as a third wheel as many of his friends suggested, he had chosen to stay home.

This led him to be splayed across the couch, in the same position for three hours. Well, not exactly the same position; he moved his arm once about half an hour ago to answer the phone, which had turned out to be a hang-up. And this had been the highlight of Joe's evening.

A flash of lightning outside of the window announced the coming of a thunderstorm. A loud clap of thunder confirmed this, but did nothing to disturb Joe. Until there was a knock at the door he was content to ignore the world. At this knock, he slowly picked himself off the couch, his stiff joints protesting as he walked through the kitchen, past the mess he had left from takeout Chinese, and to the door, which he opened just as the knocker was raising her fist to knock again.

Joe watched as the girl lowered her hand. She was soaked to the bone, hair stringy and wet, hanging down around her face. Her eyes were lost, and her face had an upset look on it. "Nancy? What are you doing here?"

"I-I don't know." Nancy Drew, the world class detective, wasn't the world class detective as she stood in front of him. She was upset, not angry, he had seen her angry, but she seemed to radiate sadness. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have come." She turned to leave.

Joe quickly grabbed her arm. "Wait. I didn't mean it like that. Come inside. You're soaked. You've got to be freezing." Joe wasn't quite processing the girl in front of him. He almost didn't think it could be Nancy. At the very least it wasn't the Nancy he knew. Every time he had seen her she was strong. She wasn't like other girls; she didn't let her emotions take over.

He led her inside without waiting for a response, closing the door behind her. Glancing outside, he couldn't see her car, but he put that to the back of his mind. Currently there was a more important issue. "So you thought you'd try the wet look?" He spoke in a joking manner, hoping to break the ice.

Nancy's face transformed to a sad smile and a short smile escaped her lips. "I knew you'd make me laugh." She paused, but never started again.

"Nancy," Joe frowned. "What's going on?"

"I've ruined everything." Nancy crossed her arms over her chest. "For a case. I…ruined everything to solve a case and now the case is over and everything is gone."

Joe listened carefully to the detective's words as she relayed the story in a near robotic voice. "What do you mean everything's gone?" He led her into the kitchen and sat her down on a stool by the breakfast bar, sitting across from her.

"I dropped everything to find her…I missed my dad's birthday. I missed my own birthday. Ned broke up with me because I wasn't there. I didn't go to an interview with the Dean of Admissions of Harvard. They all hate me, because I wanted to find her." Her voice cracked with emotion. "I wanted so badly to find her."

"You wanted to find who?" He pushed gently.

"April. This little girl I was mentoring. We were in the park and these guys grabbed her. I tried to help her, but they knocked me out. I wanted to find her. I tried for weeks but the kidnappers didn't send any demands."

"And that's why you missed everything." Joe inferred. It was almost like he was talking to a young child. He hated seeing her like this. It had only just started, but he was wishing it was over, and Nancy would return to the girl that he knew. "What happened?"

"Last night I got this package. It was these pictures of April. She was alive, and she looked so scared. It wasn't very hard to trace the package and this morning I found them."

"But that's a good thing." Joe was confused now. If they found the girl then he couldn't see the problem.

Nancy shook her head. "It was until…We didn't find her alive Joe. We only found her body. I couldn't save her."

Suddenly Joe understood everything. Why Nancy was upset, why she had just shown up on his doorstep. She needed to talk to someone who knew what it was to try and save someone, someone who dedicated their life to it. "Nancy, you can't be expected to save everyone. You're not able to save everyone."

"I was supposed to be able to save her Joe! I was there."

"I was there when Iola died, and I wanted so badly to save her. It took Frank and two other guys to hold me back." Joe took a new approach and could feel the emotion creeping into his own face.

"I had people trying to stop me." Nancy informed. "They kept telling me that I was going to get hurt. And I ignored them all."

Joe shook his head. "They weren't trying to hold me back because I could get hurt. They were holding me back because they knew there was nothing that I could do."

Nancy wiped at her eyes. "So what you're telling me is that everyone hates me now because I didn't listen to them. Thanks, but I kind of already figured that one out."

"Trust me. You couldn't make any of your real friends hate you if you tried." Joe assured putting a hand on her shoulder. "And the only reason you ignored them was to follow your heart. Now I've known you for a long time and your heart has never been wrong."

"It was wrong about April." She wiped her eyes once again, seemingly determined not to let Joe see her cry. "Look, I should just go. Thanks for listening."

She started to stand but Joe grabbed her arm once again. "Nance, it's late. And if you think that you can just tell Dr. Joe your problems and not let him solve them…"

Nancy sat back down another sad smile gracing her face. "And what words of wisdom do you have for me, 'Dr. Joe'?"

"I was thinking that you could eat a fortune cookie." He pulled the takeout bag over and reached in pulling out two fortune cookies, giving one to Nancy.

"Why? She fooled around with the plastic wrapper.

Joe opened his own cookie. "See, I sweet-talked the order taker into giving me a ton of extra cookies, and there isn't any way that I could possibly finish them by myself so…"

"So the great doctor's prescription is to eat a cookie?"

"Actually I was going to make you read the fortune."

"And add 'in bed' to the end right?"

Joe was glad to see her becoming the old Nancy again, and this was before his great advice had been handed out. "You are underestimating my maturity. Fortune cookies hold a lot of wisdom."

"The good doctor has spoken." Without another word Nancy opened its plastic wrapper, and broke the cookie in half, reading the fortune to her self.

"Well what does it say?" Joe asked.

Nancy recited the words dutifully. "The lesson is in the struggle, not in the victory. Life may be difficult now, but you will gain much in a short period of time."

"In bed." Joe added wickedly. "See, things are gonna be fine." He popped the cookie in his mouth. "The cookie has spoken." He paused, chewing over the cookie. "The way I see it, here is what's going to happen. I am going to go get you some dry clothes to sleep in while you call your dad and let him know where you are. I'm assuming that you didn't give him any notice that you were leaving and he's probably worried." Joe briefly paused. "Then you're going to get some rest, and in the morning we'll figure out what you're going to do."

"Exactly where am I sleeping?"

"My room. Where I won't be."

Nancy thought for a moment. "That sounds fine."

"The phone's right there." Joe pointed to the wall. "I'll go get you something to wear."

Nancy and he stood at the same time. "Thanks for listening Joe."

"Anytime Nance. Dr. Joe is here to help."

* * *

Two hours later, Joe was back on the couch, now watching Dirty Dancing. Nancy was sound asleep on his bed, having fallen asleep almost the second that her head hit the pillow. She was clearly exhausted, and from what he could tell, emotionally drained. A vacation was clearly in order.

He had been disturbed by the phone once; this time it had been his parents, informing him that they wouldn't be returning home for the evening.

It was only when footsteps entered the room that he looked away from Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze. "Hey." It was his brother, Frank, that greeted him with a despondent, somewhat depressed tone.

"Hey." Joe echoed, looking to his older brother, who, in all ways of saying it, had a black eye that was about halfway swollen shut. "What the hell happened to you?" It wasn't the same soft and forgiving tone that he had used with Nancy. This was their brother and there was no need to be gentle.

"It's nothing." Frank shook his head. "It will be fine."

"Frank, Frank, Frank, Frank, Frank. I didn't ask if you were OK. I asked you what happened."

"Callie…broke up with me." Frank informed with a sigh.

"What!" Joe did a double take. Frank and Callie had been together for a long time. They were constant. "And she hit you?"

"Callie didn't hit me. She just broke up with me after this guy hit me."

"So she broke up with you after you defended her honor." Joe nodded.

"Will you just let me tell the story?" Frank asked as he sat down.

"Right." Joe nodded "Go ahead."

Frank sighed quickly. "About five minutes into the date I noticed this guy. He was acting weird so I thought something was up and instead of going into the movies with Callie I stayed outside and watched the guy for a minute. He went to mug this woman so I went after him. There was a fight, and that's how I got this."

Joe took this in. "Why'd Callie break up with you? All you did was help someone."

"Apparently that was the problem." Frank informed. "She said that I spent too much time solving crimes and that I go looking for them. I couldn't even go on one date without interrupting it." Joe didn't say anything for a moment, processing everything. "Joe, this is the part where you say something supportive that's supposed to make me feel better." Frank informed his younger brother.

"Right. Sorry." Joe responded quickly, shaking out of his daze. "Good riddance."

"Um, what?" Now Frank did a double take. "Joe, my girlfriend of three years just broke up with me and you say 'good riddance'. I'm afraid I don't get how that's supposed to make me feel better."

"That wasn't meant to make you feel better. That was just me expressing my thoughts." Joe explained quickly.

This only made Frank more confused as he had always thought that Joe had liked Callie. "You felt that way about Callie?"

Joe ran a hand through his hair. He had a feeling that he had run himself into a corner. "Well, let's face it Frank. When it came to us being the Clues Brothers…Callie was never the most supportive. It's not that she wasn't a nice girl, it's just that she wasn't nice about what was important to you." He briefly paused. "Mysteries are you, Frank. They're what you do, and she couldn't accept that."

"So what you're saying is that it's not the end of the world that she's gone."

"That's exactly what I'm saying." Joe nodded somewhat triumphantly.

"Really, because it feels like it."

Joe looked at his brother's face, and realized his mistake. "I mean think about it. You've met a lot of girls that would be great for you while we were on cases. And you've never really gotten a chance to try them."

"Like who?"

"That girl, Taryn." Joe answered after a moment of thought. "She was nice."

"She ended up trying to kill us. We had her arrested."

"OK. So that wasn't the best example." He paused. "What about Faye? From New Orleans? You liked her didn't you?"

"Not to date. No way. I thought you were supposed to know me better than that."

"I do know you better than that. But you're not going to like the other name that comes to mind."

"Try me."

"Nancy."

"We've been over this Joe. Nancy and I are-."

"Just friends." Joe rolled his eyes as he finished the statement with his brother. "I know. You've told me before. I just don't believe you."

"Are you going to go on about this for very long?"

"No. What I will do is have you eat a fortune cookie." Joe reached down to the bag that he had brought into the living room earlier.

"A fortune cookie." Frank repeated dubiously.

"But of course. The answers to all of life's questions are in fortune cookies. And clearly you have a question."

"I thought that the answers to all of life's questions were in the movies."

"They are. But it's late and we don't have time to watch a movie." Joe tossed his brother a cookie. "Besides, this way your problem gets solved and you get a tasty treat. And…I am Dr. Joe and I order you to do it."

Frank cracked the cookie in half popping part of it in his mouth and unfolding the paper. "Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without one. Appreciate the good qualities of a person near you and you may see them in a new light." Frank glared at his brother. "You rigged this."

"How do I rig a fortune cookie?" Joe asked innocently.

"You _so_ had something to do with it."

"Yeah, you're crazy. I must suggest you get some rest. You'll be a lot better in the morning. Trust me."

"Fine. Thanks for the talk. I'll see you in the morning."

"No prob."

* * *

The next morning Joe was proud of himself. He was the first one awake, a rare occurrence. This was purely because he had slept on the couch, which, though comfortable for watching television, was not the best place to sleep. He was pouring milk in his cereal when his brother came downstairs in his usual sleeping attire, pajama bottoms. "Morning Frank."

"Morning Joe." He ran a hand through his hair at Joe's somewhat cheery tone.

"You feeling better about the whole Callie thing?" Joe inquired through a mouthful of cereal.

Frank gave his younger brother a pointed look. "Just give it a couple days Joe." He pulled a bowl down from the cupboard. "It'll be better in a couple days." Joe shrugged, continuing his eating, while Frank opened a box of cereal. "So mom and dad didn't come home last night?"

"Yeah, something about getting plastered." Joe stopped at his brother's 'you're immature' look. "Lighten up. They called last night and said they were having too much fun and not to expect them home. But I was thinking that we should call them and see if we can take them up on their offer of that vacation."

"Why now?"

"We could use some time out of Bayport." Joe explained. It looked to Frank like he had something else on his mind, but he said nothing. "I say we go someplace warm."

"I guess that's good. We can talk about it with mom and dad." Frank nodded.

"Good." Joe also nodded, before dropping his spoon in sudden realization. "Oh. I should warn you that last night--."

Joe was cut off by a feminine voice, in front of him, but behind Frank. "Hey Joe, thanks again for last night."

Frank turned around in his chair to see the familiar girl standing in the entrance of the kitchen, with messy strawberry blond hair, clad in only an oversized t-shirt. "Nancy." He spoke the obvious.

Her cheeks were tinged lightly with pink.

Joe tried speaking again. "I should warn you that last night Nancy slept over."

* * *

Thoughts? 


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, or the characters associated with them.

Author's notes: Thank you very much for all of the reviews. I'm glad that you all think I'm doing a good job. Especially with Joe because his characterization always concerns me. Anyway, here's more of the fic.

* * *

Family, You Can Live With Them, But They Definitely Have Some Timing Issues

Joe looked back and forth between his brother and his 'sister' who both weren't speaking. "You feeling better?"

"Um…yeah." Nancy answered somewhat quietly. It was clear she was still a bit off, but she was definitely better than she had been the previous night. "Thanks."

"Not a problem." Joe went back and forth again, inwardly laughing at the plot forming in his head. "Why don't you get some breakfast while I see if your clothes are dry?"

"Sure." Nancy stepped into the room and aside, allowing Joe to exit. This left the two detectives in a silence. Nancy was trying desperately not to stare at Frank's chest; Frank was doing the same with Nancy's legs. It was after a moment of this silence that Nancy finally spoke. "So, it's good to see you."

"Yeah." Frank agreed quietly. "Nice shirt."

Nancy looked down at the t-shirt that read, 'I taught your girlfriend that thing you like.' "Oh." She laughed a little. "That would be your brothers."

"I know." Frank nodded, trying to think of any plausible explanations. Currently it was looking like Nancy had spent the night with his brother. He couldn't really see this happening, but it was the only impression that he could get from the situation. The best way to learn was definitely to ask, but the proper words were alluding him; it was easier to just casually mention something. "I'm a little curious as to why you're wearing."

"I made a spur of the moment trip here without packing and Joe…recognized that issue."

This sort of eased Frank's mind. It wasn't exactly explanatory, but it seemed to deal with the fact that nothing had really happened. "Yeah. Why are you here?" He scratched behind his ear after he asked the question. For the first time that he could remember, things were awkward between him and Nancy, and he wasn't sure why. "Not that you're not welcome it's just that…it's a pretty sudden visit."

Nancy fiddled with a strand of hair for a moment before answering, and tackling the sensitive subject. "I just had a real tough case that didn't end well. I needed to be around someone else who had that happen." She had pretty much summed it up without really explaining things. It wasn't helpful for the most part, but it got answering the questions out of the way, which was all that she wanted. She wanted to move on to a topic that would return things to normalcy.

"Oh." Frank's face fell for a moment realizing that it wasn't the best of circumstances. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Nancy hesitated. "Joe kind of took care of it last night, and I don't really want to think about it right now." She shrugged. "But later…"

"Right. I'm here." Frank nodded in the understanding.

"Right." Nancy sat down, looking over for a moment. "What happened to your eye?"

"I stopped a mugging last night."

"Good for you."

"Yeah, I thought it was a pretty good one…"

In came another silence that was awkward, but Nancy had to break it. "So how's Callie?" It was the first topic that came to mind, and by the look on Frank's face, she knew it was the wrong one.

"We broke up last night." He informed; his voice wasn't very upset, but the news still came out in a rushed manner, as thought he was trying to get the news over with.

"Oh."

"Yeah…What about Ned?"

Nancy did the same with her own news. "He left a few days ago."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

Another awkward silence ensued. The two detectives seemed unable to escape the fact that they were both half-naked, and it was putting a bit of a damper on the situation. Once again though, it was Nancy who took the initiative to talk. "I guess this puts us in a bit of a weird place."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, now we could…" Nancy stood and walked to the fridge, turning away from facing Frank, as though the implication was embarrassing to her.

"Without any-," Frank picked up where she trailed off, completely understanding what she meant. It was that easy to pick up on the thoughts.

"And nobody…" Nancy cut him off, turning around, but she trailed off again.

Frank didn't say anything, but he stood walking to her position, and stopping in front of her, feeling in the moment, and reveling in the chemistry that was radiating between them.

She leaned back against the fridge, making the distance between them remain constant. Even as she did this, she looked at him, in a way that there eyes met, and just a short spark of electricity was shared between them.

Frank's head came closer, but he paused, using one hand to move a strand of her hair out of her face. His hand remained in the same place as he continued to get closer again, the room just getting more and more quiet and full of an energy.

"Your shirt is still pretty wet so I put it in the dryer again, and I'll get you another one in a minute. And I brought your jeans." Joe finished his sentence as he entered the room and then nearly dropped the jeans. Frank jumped away from Nancy, Nancy's hand went up to fix the hair that Frank's hand had just fixed; both of their cheeks were quite flushed and they were breathing almost nervously. Joe grinned a little. "Should I come back later?"

* * *

"So…" Nancy looked to Frank, who was sitting across from her. They had arranged this when they sat back down at the table for breakfast, which neither of them really ate, but it was a good excuse for sitting, and putting furniture between them. Joe, their main safety net, however, had just left, saying that he was going to research their vacation, but he had winked at Frank on his way out. This meant that whether he was actually researching, or just putting them in a room alone together was very questionable.

"Yeah…" Frank echoed her tone, in recognizing where the conversation was about to go, and in realization that they still weren't very clothed. He still finished his thought. "I'm not sure that what just happened."

Nancy nodded in complete understanding, but she was able to find an answer. "Well we almost kissed."

"Well yeah, but it wasn't like it should have…we shouldn't have been doing that, right?"

"Right." She didn't disagree. "We aren't exactly in our right minds. Especially me. If we had done that…"

"We were just being vulnerable. It didn't mean anything."

"It didn't mean anything." Nancy repeated.

"It didn't mean anything. I think that just about covers it." Frank inhaled a bit. "It was just a momentary lack of…whatever."

"Right. That…almost kiss was just a momentary lack of…whatever."

* * *

"So that was a pretty intense…moment."

Frank sighed as he reached the upstairs hallway. Joe had been waiting for him, and now had him cornered, clearly looking for information. This was not a good situation. "It wasn't anything."

"You were about to..." Joe smirked a little as they started down the hall to Frank's room. He knew the way to annoy Frank, but at the same time it would get him to talk. Just leave things to suggestion.

"We weren't. It wasn't anything like the other times that we've kissed." Frank admitted without even realizing."But-."

Joe stopped dead in his tracks. "This has happened before?" He cut his brother off almost in shock. He had known of Frank and Nancy's closeness but this was bigger. "When?"

"The ski resort…the Egypt case." Frank shrugged at Joe's eagerness. In his eyes this wasn't a big deal. Each time that it had happened they had both agreed that it wasn't right. "It was only once or twice and we both agreed it wasn't supposed to happen. At the time we both had someone else."

"And now you don't." Joe grinned a little, sitting on his brother's bed, as Frank took a seat in his computer chair.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"That there's nothing holding you two back. That was a perfectly legitimate moment."

"Legitimate?" Frank raised an eyebrow.

Joe waved his brothers thoughts away with an air of dismissal. "Bad choice of words. The point is you two have always had this little flirting, oh-so-perfect for each other attitude and you've never been able to be together. And now you can."

"Not exactly." Frank ran a hand through his hair, leaning back in his chair and looking at the ceiling.

"What did you do?" Joe inquired with a slightly accusatory tone. This did not sound good coming from his brother's mouth.

Frank came back from his reclined position. "Why do you assume that it's something I did?"

"Because Nancy is like a sister to me."

"I _am_ your brother."

"Well…she's cuter. Now what did you do?"

"_We_…" Frank shot his brother a look, reprimanding him for his attitude. "both decided that…whatever that was, was a mistake that we made when we both weren't in the best state of mind."

Now it was Joe's turn to give Frank a disappointed look. "You have got to be kidding me. That is the biggest load of--."

"It is not." Frank protested. "It's a rational decision. I just broke up with Callie, she's clearly upset. We aren't thinking clearly."

"Did she say this?"

"Yes. That is why I am fully confident that this is the right decision. It just isn't really right. She said it."

"She was lying."

"What do you mean she was lying?"

"She wanted that kiss to happen as much as you did."

"I did not want that—she wanted it?" Frank interrupted his own protests out of an irrepressible curiosity.

Joe smiled in his triumph of revelation. He now knew he had won. "So you do like her."

"Fine. Yes. I like her." Frank sighed, feeling as though he was in the fourth grade, discussing secret crushes. "Now explain this. She wanted us to kiss?"

"Yeah. Because she definitely likes you."

"And how did you come to this conclusion?"

"I'm Joe Hardy. The female mind is my forte." Frank snorted. "Hey, you may laugh, but I'm not the one who is having girl troubles, am I?"

"Fine. Fine. All hail Joe." Frank rolled his eyes a little. "Now please explain how you have drawn all these conclusions."

"Well let's face it. She didn't drive all the way from River Heights for the both of us. She wanted for you to be there for her. Now I know I make a great substitute, but she wanted it to be you."

"She told you this?"

"No. But I know it's true. While we're on this trip she's going to be busy looking at you, and looking to you for help."

For a brief moment Frank didn't say anything. He was taking the entire conversation in. In reality all the information that Joe had given him made sense. He and Nancy had always had chemistry…they had always decided it would be better to ignore it. It would make sense if the feelings were resurfacing. However, Frank didn't want to live in reality right now. He was just content saying that he and Nancy were friends and that was what they had decided on staying. "Why did she come here anyway?" He finally asked, choosing a neutral topic. "I know it was a bad case, but that was all she would tell me."

It was in a quiet voice that Joe preceded to relay the information to Frank, who listened carefully. "That's why we're taking this vacation. She really needs it."

* * *

OK, I promise that the next chapter is going to have the development of the case, but I just felt like I needed to develop everyone's relationship a bit more before we got to the other stuff.

Thoughts?


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, or the characters associated with them.

Author's notes: Thank you for all of the reviews and your support, I'm really glad that you all like the story so much.

* * *

A Vacation is Really Just a Case in an Exotic Location

Nancy set about unpacking her things in the beach bungalow she was staying in on South Andros Island. In the four days since she had shown up on the Hardys doorstep, they had organized a vacation, and done everything they could to make sure that she remained in good spirits. The brothers would be staying in the bungalow next door, and Nancy had promised to meet them on the beach as soon as she was unpacked.

She sighed a little as she began moving the clothes from suitcase to the dresser, feeling a little bit more despondent now that she was alone. It wasn't that she didn't want to be on vacation. She really needed a vacation. It was just that a vacation involved a lot of downtime, something that she didn't really want.

After pulling a sundress out of her bag, Nancy walked over to the closet and opened the door, where a figure darted out and shoved her to the side, into the dresser, before hurrying out the door.

* * *

Joe glanced over at his brother as they unpacked. Frank had been quiet and pensive since they had stopped in River Heights to get Nancy's things the day before. He was starting to get curious and annoyed with him. He wanted to know what had brought the mood on, because things had most definitely been interesting and surprising lately. He also wanted the normal Frank back; it was getting difficult to keep everything running smoothly on his own. "So what's on your mind?" He asked quietly, tossing his clothes on the bed, deciding that putting them away wasn't that important. "You've been quiet." 

Frank glanced away from his own clothes that he was refolding and placing in the dresser. "Nancy's not really happy." He sighed a little.

"She told you this?" Joe raised an eyebrow. Nancy hadn't been expressing everything as she had on the first night. It wasn't in her nature. The breakdown had been a freak occurrence, so naturally he hadn't been expecting a revelation to Frank, even with their special connection.

"No, but it's kind of obvious." Frank went back to working on his belongings. "Her smiles aren't meeting her eyes, and she's been quiet."

"Well if quiet is a symptom of being unhappy than you're a prime candidate Frank." Joe pointed out, though he found his brother's observations fascinating.

"You know what I mean. She's not the same."

"And you would be?" Joe challenged. Sometimes his brother could be a real moron. "She invested her life in something, and it failed her. It's only been four days."

Frank sighed again, closing his now empty suitcase. He knew that his brother was right, but that didn't make him feel any better about the situation. "I know…"

Joe tossed a t-shirt on top of the rest of his clothing. "I think she'll be better when our surprise shows up in a couple days."

"Yeah. Bess will be good for her." Frank agreed.

"And until then we need to keep up what we've been doing. She just needs some time to get back into her normal life."

Frank was about to respond to this, when there was a knock at the door. Instead of continuing to talk, he went over to the door and opened it.

Nancy was standing in front of him breathing heavily. Her strawberry blond hair was half in a ponytail; the other half was falling out and tiredly hanging in haphazard places. She hadn't changed out of the clothes she had traveled in, though the turquoise polo shirt and jean shorts were now a bit dirtier then he remembered, and there was a matching streak of dirt across her face. One hand was on her hip, and the other, she was holding against the small of her back. "Got any time for an investigation?" She smiled a little wryly and tiredly as she spoke.

"What happened?" Frank ushered her inside the bungalow quickly, and glanced around outside, seeing nothing but tourists. "Are you all right?" He closed the door.

Joe looked over frowning. "What's going on?"

"There was a guy in my room." Nancy began to explain. "He was hiding in the closet. I think I caught him by surprise. He pushed me aside and ran. I tried to catch up with him, but he cut through the gardens by the main building, and I tripped and lost him." It was pretty obvious that Nancy was disappointed by her tone and expression, but at the moment, neither brother was concerned by that.

"Are you OK?" Frank tried asking again, hoping this time she wouldn't ignore the question. The possibility of a case was taking the back burner to Nancy's own health.

Nancy nodded, dropping her hand from her back and looking at the brothers. "Yeah." She paused, her breathing starting to even out a bit more. "I was planning on checking out the room myself, before getting anyone else involved. I thought you two might be interested."

Joe grinned a little, realizing Nancy was fine. "Sounds like fun." He clapped his hands together in excitement. "Should we grab our magnifying glasses or do you want to share yours?"

* * *

The room, wasn't much of a mess. There was only the fallen sundress near the closet, and one knocked over vase on top of the dresser. Overall it didn't seem like much had happened in the room. Frank gave the entire area the once over before he spoke, going into case mode. "So do we think this was a theft attempt with bad timing…" He trailed off looking to Nancy and Joe. 

Nancy shrugged. "I'm not sure. That's why I wanted to check it out before we bring in the local authorities."

"It doesn't look like he dropped anything.' Joe's eyes swept over the floor, but at the end of the sentence he too looked at Nancy. "You said he was in the closet?" He gestured, but didn't wait for confirmation, just went straight for the door and ducked in."

Frank glanced over at Nancy again when they were left in a silence as Joe examined the closet. He wasn't sure if his was a good situation. First of all, it was unsettling that less than two hours into their official vacation they had found a mystery, and that that mystery was in Nancy's room. And Frank knew that he didn't like the idea of Nancy on a case right now. He would admit that he didn't have as much knowledge in the psychological field as Joe seemed to have, but he had the feeling that adding the stress of a case to her current state wouldn't be good.

Nancy, who was looking down at the floor in avoidance, knew that Frank was watching her. He had been watching her the same way since their almost moment in the kitchen. Frank was watching her, because he was worried she was going to have another meltdown. She had two thoughts on this. One was that she wasn't a child, and that she could handle her emotions perfectly well. The other was that she almost wished she could be watching back.

"There's nothing in here." Joe came back into the room. "You may have surprised him, but he wasn't surprised enough to lose anything that he might have had on him." He paused. "We should probably call the police. We don't know what this guy wanted."

Frank ran a hand through his hair, liking the situation even less. "I don't know. Involving the police will make things a lot more complicated. Especially since we don't have much proof about what happened to begin with."

"Yeah." Joe nodded, following his brother's train of thought.

"It might be better if we wait, and just start our vacation. If anything else happens or we see that guy we can go from there." Frank continued with his thought.

Nancy looked over. "That's probably the better option. I didn't get a good look at him or anything, but he looked pretty young. It was probably just some kid fooling around and I scared him."

The brothers looked at each other in a bit of concern. They had never seen Nancy change her theory so suddenly or drastically. Now they were wondering if it had to do with her previous case.

"Let's just get to our vacation." Nancy spoke again, catching on that the brothers weren't going to. "I'll meet you guys out on the beach, like we planned."

* * *

Frank moved his eyes from looking at the blue waters of the ocean, to his brother. They hadn't been on the beach for ten minutes and Joe had already started to teach a few girls how to properly serve in a beach volleyball game, and get a bit of harmless flirting in on the side. 

He was still waiting for Nancy to come out from her bungalow, so instead of joining in any of the activities like Joe was, Frank had put a towel down, and taken out the book he had been reading on the airplane. He opened the book up, unfolding the corner of the page that he had folded down, and started to read, until a figure stepped into the sunlight. "So that book must be pretty interesting for you to be reading it so much."

He stuck his thumb in between the pages as he closed the book, and looked up at the figure. "It's just your average mystery novel." He shrugged a little.

Nancy smiled at him, taking the towel out from under her arm, and unfolding it, spreading it across the sand. "I take it that means you've already solved it."

"Pretty much." Frank laughed a little, starting to relax seeing that she had since the chase. He was still concerned, but it was easier to put those thoughts aside out in the sun, where everything seemed less serious.

"So, Joe's already found something to do." Nancy pointed a little to the volleyball game as she started to gingerly sit down.

"Yeah." Frank frowned at her slow movements. "Are you OK?"

Nancy nodded. "I'm just a little sore, where I got thrown into the dresser."

"Where is it?"

"My back."

"Lie down, on your stomach, and stretch it out a bit." Frank suggested, watching as she complied, still slowly. "Do you mind if I take a look?"

"Go ahead."

Frank sat up a bit more, and moved so he was kneeling next to Nancy's towel. With one hand he gently pressed down the small of her back, the area that looked like it was bruising. "Wow, this muscle is really tight." He observed quietly. "That's why its bothering you so much. Let me see if I can loosen it up a little." He started to use both hands, massaging the muscle carefully. "How does that feel? I'm not hurting you am I?"

"Are you kidding? I think I should hire you full time and you can take care of all my case injuries."

"I think Joe would object to my leaving."

"Nobody really cares about Joe."

But Frank didn't hear Nancy's quip. He heard a whistling noise, and felt the sand fly up next to him. He stopped the massage and looked up, spotting a shadow in the palm trees that were lining the back edge of the beach, and sticking out from the shadow the unmistakable shape a gun. There was a second whistling noise, and more sand came up on the other side. That was when Frank dropped down on top of Nancy. Turning his head to one side he shouted. "Everybody get down!"

* * *

Thoughts? 


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, or the characters associated with them.

Author's notes: Thank you reviewers. I really appreciate all of the feedback and constructive criticism you're giving me. I am also glad that aside from enjoying the story, you are enjoying the chapter titles.

* * *

She Starts Out Cute, and That's How She Tricks Them Into Being Her Enemy

Frank lifted his head after a few seconds. He could see that most of the beach-goers had complied, and that the shooter in the trees was gone. Joe was also on the ground, looking around alertly, but when his eyes met Frank's he shot him a confused look. Frank sent him a look saying that he would explain later, then continued to look around, checking for anything else that might be out of place.

"Frank?" Nancy spoke quietly. "Not that I don't love having the breath crushed out of me or anything, but what are you doing?"

"Oh…" Frank removed himself so he was off Nancy and the towel, feeling a blush rise to his cheeks. "There was a guy, shooting at us."

Nancy rolled over so she was lying on her back and raised an eyebrow at him. "Shooting at us? Hardy, you've only been out here in the sun for ten minutes. You couldn't possibly have gone nuts already."

Frank backed away a bit more, and knelt down, sifting through the sand with his fingers until he came in contact with exactly what he was looking for. He held it out to Nancy and the sun glinted off the spent bullet.

Nancy sat up, and took the bullet from him, rolling it in her fingers to examine it. "There was a guy shooting at us." She repeated the previous statement, a bit more subdued in the realization of the situation. Her mouth was open to speak again, but Joe was jogging up.

"What's going on?" He asked, stopping behind his brother. "I heard some crazy guy shouting for us to hit the deck."

"There was a guy shooting at us." Nancy repeated again, standing, and then showing him the bullet.

"Really? I didn't notice anything." Joe informed as his brother stood. The three detectives formed a sort of triangle, as they often did when they needed to discuss things. He took the bullet from Nancy and started to look at it.

Nancy crossed her arms over her chest. "Neither did I. First thing that I noticed was Frank jumping on top of me."

Joe shot a glance between the two for a moment, but that train of thought ceased quickly. "Are you guys OK?"

"We're fine." Frank nodded. "You?"

"Yeah."

"Good." Frank glanced around the beach, seeing people starting to go back to their activities, confused, but not in the least bit shaken up about what they had no idea had occurred. "Maybe we should figure out what's going on then."

No one said anything, as though they didn't know where to start. All three glanced around, looking at their surroundings, each other and their feet, depending on the particular moment. Finally, Joe's gaze landed on Frank and remained there. After a moment, Nancy's eyes followed suit.

Frank looked between the two of them suspiciously. "What? Are you guys waiting for me to take the lead on this or something?"

"Well you are the oldest." Joe informed.

"And you are the only one of us who saw anything." Nancy added. "Where was this guy?"

Frank pointed to the palm trees. "Right over there. He was standing behind the trunk of one of those."

Joe nodded in comprehension. "And you two were here, and Frank was basically on top of you Nancy--."

"He was massaging my back." Nancy cut Joe off, uncrossing her arms. "What does that have to do with any of this?"

"I'm setting the scene. It'll help if we know who he was shooting at out of us. If he was even shooting at any of us at all." Joe smiled a little, in a sort of triumphant manner. He got to drag their behavior into the case. And this was only the first day.

Frank sighed. "Well he wasn't shooting at me. I was sitting up, an easy target. And that gun looked like it had some sort of a scope."

"Same with me. And most of the people on the beach." Joe agreed. "We were moving, but we were also all up. This guy would have been able to hit any of us. Even without a scope. Those trees are only, what, a hundred feet away?"

"Well then who was he shooting at?" Nancy questioned. She didn't see anybody on the beach that looked like a possible target, which very well could have meant nothing. Neither brother answered her, but they shared a look, and then started to look at her. And she knew what that meant. "You're not serious…Guys, I was lying on the ground. It would have been near impossible for them to hit me."

"She has a point." Joe crossed his arms, using one hand to point at Nancy, while looking over at Frank.

"You did have someone in your closet earlier. And we don't know what they wanted." Frank pointed out in a quick rebuttal.

Joe switched who he was looking at and pointing to. "He has a point."

Nancy shot him a warning look out of annoyance. "I told you. It looked like it was just some kid…" She trailed off in uncertainty. "Besides if I was the target, he would have waited for a better shot."

Joe went back into serious mode. "This is a pretty crowded area. Any shooter doesn't exactly have time to sit around and wait for the perfect shot. They would look too suspicious, just standing in the shadows with a gun."

Frank clearly agreed. "I'm gonna go call the police. They should get down here and the evidence, and our statements."

"What evidence?" Nancy asked a little rhetorically. "One bullet that has our prints all over it. And you're the only one that has a statement to begin with. No one else on this beach even knows anything happened. If I didn't know you, I wouldn't know anything happened." She paused. "You know the cops, they aren't gonna take this seriously at all."

"If somebody shot at you and you have proof they have to take it seriously. We can show them this stuff Nan." Frank countered.

"And they'll tell you that that thing has probably been in the sand for years, and that you've seen too many action movies." Nancy retorted. "We don't have anything to go to the police with. There wouldn't be any point."

For a moment there was a silence. Nancy was waiting for a response. Joe was choosing not to get involved in this battle, and Frank was having an internal battle about what action he would take. Finally he sighed. "Fine. We won't call them."

They stood in another silence, all three turning to look at a sun that was barely starting to set. The silence was interrupted by Joe's stomach growling. "Are we done having near-death experiences and investigating for now?" Neither of his companions answered him. "If so, may I suggest that we go and get for a dinner at this club that I researched before we came. The food is supposed to be amazing and the entertainment is supposed to be pretty good."

"Sure Joe." Frank nodded his gaze not relaxing very much. "Let's go."

* * *

"So why do you think Nancy was so against the police getting involved?" Joe asked Frank, as they stood on the front porch of Nancy's bungalow, waiting for her to finish getting ready.

"You've got me." Frank shrugged, bending over and leaning against the railing, looking out towards the beach.

Joe nodded, he himself leaning against the wall. "She did have some pretty valid points though. The police would have said exactly what she said to us. And then when they turned to leave they would have laughed a lot."

"Which doesn't change the fact that they at least would have been aware of the situation if we had called them…no matter how fictional they thought it was."

"Well as I recall you were arguing the same points about the man in the closet. The general consensus between the two of you is that the police getting involved would be a bad idea. Although if you think about it isn't really a consensus because you had the thoughts at completely different times…" Joe trailed off a little. "Does that still constitute a consensus?"

"I don't know." Frank turned his head so he was staring his brother in the face. "If your brother is talking so much that it's really, really annoying you, and your fist slips and knocks him unconscious does that still constitute assault?"

Joe sighed. "OK, so we're not in a talkative mood." He waited for a few seconds before speaking again. "So do you think that guy really was shooting at Nancy?"

"It makes the most sense. She has a few people that probably want to see her dead."

"A few."

"Well, more than a few…"

"Because enemies accumulate. And she tends to lure people into becoming her enemy. Yeah, I guess they might have been shooting at her."

Frank turned his head back to the beach. "You're mocking me."

"Extensively." The conversation ended as the door opened, and Nancy stepped out. Both brothers turned too see that she had changed into a jean skirt, and a gauzy white flowing halter top, that gave her a mix of casualty and formalness. Joe let out a low whistle. "Why Miss Drew, don't you clean up nice?"

* * *

The three detectives entered the club-like restaurant that they had walked to from the hotel. The actual restaurant was crowded, but the entry way, was empty aside from the host, who looked more like he should be residing behind the bar in his jeans and t-shirt. He watched them as they came up and spoke before they could. "Well, if it isn't Nancy Drew. 5 feet, seven inches tall, 128 pounds. Age 18. Birth date May 13th 1988. Occupation private detective. Father Carson Drew, lawyer. Mother Lauren Drew, deceased." He smirked a little at their suspicious and surprised looks.

"How do you know all of that?" Nancy was the one to ask, in a hushed voice.

He gave her a pointed look. "Well that's the information that's being passed around to the seedy underbelly of island. Along with the offer of one hundred thousand dollars to the person who kills you."

Nancy shrank back a bit to the point that she collided into Joe, who easily stepped aside and made room for her in between the brothers, and then stepped with one foot in front of her, in a protective manner.

Frank looked over. "Can we call the police now?"

Joe also aimed a look in her direction. "I might listen to him this time. I'd say there are a few people out there to get you."


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own, Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, or the characters associated with them.

Author's notes: Thank you reviewers. To clear a few things up, the restaurant host guy, was doing the whole thing as a warning to them, not because he was involved in the plot to get Nancy or anything. It's basically that he heard about it, recognized her, and decided to do her a favor.

* * *

Impressions Are Only a Form of Flattery if You Do Them Well

Nancy sat on the bed next to her repacked suitcase. There was a police officer outside on the porch, guarding her, and waiting to escort her and the brothers to the airport. The first course of action was to get her off the island. She knew the Hardys were taking care of that, so now she was left, waiting.

A knock on the door stirred her from her activity of staring at the wall. "Ms. Drew? Mr. Hardy would like to see you." The officer announced from behind the door.

Nancy didn't bother considering which one it was, just stood and walked over to answer the door, finding the officer, and Frank standing before her. "I thought you might like one walk on the beach before you leave for the airport." He offered with a bit of a smile. "I already cleared it with your shadow here. He'll be following us at a distance, but I figured that it was better than nothing."

"Uh, sure." Nancy agreed, putting a conscious effort forward to prevent herself from biting her lip. It wasn't that she didn't want to go for a walk on the beach, or be around Frank for that matter; she wasn't even that concerned about going outside while there was a contract for her death on her. She just didn't want to get in the place that being with Frank always put her. Emotional, vulnerable, and confused. Three things that she couldn't deal with being right now. "Just let me grab my sweatshirt."

Frank nodded, waiting until she came back wearing a zip-up sweatshirt. Without a word, they left the bungalow, and walked down to the beach. He knew that things weren't going well. First of all, the vacation that had been planned to cheer Nancy up, was now being interrupted by someone who wanted to kill her. And this had caused her to go pretty much silent, which was definitely not in the plan. They were starting to walk down the beach when he finally decided to speak. "So, how are you doing?"

"Pretty well for someone who has an entire island out to kill her." Nancy wrapped her arms over her chest in a sort of protective motion. This was step two in her plan to keep things as neutral as possible between herself and Frank. So far she had eliminated the possibility of him lending her his own sweatshirt, and now she had gotten rid of the option of contact.

He smiled a little at her sarcasm, that was delivered in a tone that was anything but sarcastic. "Yeah I guess that was a dumb question." But really, what else was there to talk about? It wasn't as though he could go on asking her about all the other aspects of her life, when he knew most of those were still sore subjects. He was limited. "Joe just finished making travel arrangements for us. We're all going to be taking the charter flight back to the main island, but there were only two seats on the first flight back to Florida." He paused. "Joe's gonna be going with you and from there you two will go on a direct flight to New York."

"What's in New York?"

"Dad and some of his FBI buddies are setting up a safe house for you. They're also working on finding out who put the offer out."

"Oh. And what about you?"

"Me?" Frank shoved his hands into his pockets. "I'm just gonna follow you guys out on the next flight and meet you up there."

They walked for a bit more, looking at their feet as they did so. "Some vacation, huh?" Nancy shook her head a little wryly. "We can't even last a day anymore. I'm starting to think that I'm cursed."

"I'd say cursed is a little harsh Nan."

"I've managed to ruin the vacation haven't I?"

Frank stopped walking, and put a hand on Nancy's arm to stop her and turn her to face him. "You haven't ruined anything. You've just moved it."

"Trust me. It's a little hard to have a Bahamian vacation locked up in a safe house in New York." Nancy smiled a little wryly. "But I appreciate the whole attempt at making me feel better."

"I was hoping it would be more than an attempt."

Nancy smiled, but then pulled it from her face and turned away, starting to walk again, remembering the earlier precautions see had set for herself. This wasn't the time to fall for anyone. "So do we have any ideas about who wants me dead?" That was a topic that couldn't possibly lead to anything romantic. A new barrier between the two.

"Well, you would know better than me." Frank shrugged, tucking his hands back into his pockets. "But if I had to guess I would say that it's someone wealthy that you got arrested."

"The money could be a ploy though." Nancy countered. "It's not like this person went to a professional contract killer who would get a down payment and check to see if the person had the money. He spread some information about me around and said that if I was killed that person would get the money. But as far as we know everyone here is just motivated by greed, and they haven't done anything like this before. If the guy behind this is smart, he chose to go to them because he wouldn't have to actually pay them. "

"I hadn't thought of that."

"Well I'm always getting the stuff that you miss Hardy." She teased a bit, suddenly forgetting everything, and getting brought into the moment.

"You are not."

"Oh yeah? Eighth grade when we first met at that academic bowl. Every question that you got wrong I got it right." Nancy pointed out triumphantly. "And I believe that I was the one who solved that case. Not you and your brother."

"Well frankly Miss Nancy, I don't give a damn."

Nancy rolled her eyes at the bad southern accent. "Frank, I thought we agreed that you weren't going to do any more impressions."

"I don't remember such a conversation."

"I think it was right around the time we were helping out the Ingrid and Ragner. You were doing an absolutely horrible Humphrey Bogart and—."

"My Bogart is not that bad." Frank protested.

"Have you heard it?"

"Nancy, god, you're wounding me here."

"Oh you poor thing…"Nancy teased a bit more, as they stopped walking, hitting another silence.

For a moment they just stood, looking at each other. "Nancy I--."

"Hey guys, if we're gonna make the charter flight we have to leave now." Joe jogged up in between the two.

"Uh...right." Nancy took a step back adjusting a strand of her hair. "Let's go."

* * *

"So, what exactly was it that I interrupted this time?" Joe looked over to Nancy, towards the middle of their flight back to Florida.

Nancy closed her book and looked over at him. "What are you talking about?"

"You know…You and Frank. On the beach. Getting awfully close." Joe playfully winked at her, a little bit of a smirk on his face.

"You didn't interrupt anything. We were just talking."

"Nancy I know what just talking is. You two were not just talking. There was something going on there."

"Well what exactly do you want to hear Joe? Because all we were doing was talking."

"I want to hear the truth, about what would've happened."

Nancy sighed, briefly looking out the window, and then turned back. For some reason she couldn't avoid telling Joe like she would have been able to avoid telling Bess or anyone else. "We probably would've kissed."

"You sigh like that would have been a bad thing."

"No. It's just that, I'm too messed up right now to start anything."

"Nance, you know that you are no more messed up than my brother."

"Joe, I just don't want to screw things up. And doing anything right now would just screw things up."

"OK, I get what you're saying." Joe took a sip of his soda. "Just don't wait too long OK? Frank tends to get moody when he's lonely."

* * *

"So how long do we have til the next flight?" Nancy asked Joe as they stepped into a food court like area of the airport.

"A couple hours." Joe shrugged, turning his cell phone on, in case Frank or his dad needed to check in with him. "I will be your personal body guard until then. Don't you feel safe?"

"Oh you have no idea."

"You know I get the feeling that I'm forgetting something." Joe stepped into a line in front of a pizza kiosk. "I don't know what though."

"You probably left a shirt on the island or something."

"No it feels bigger than that."

"Relax. It's probably nothing."

Before Joe could get another word in, his cell phone started to ring. "Hello?" He answered it quickly.

"Do you know who I just ran into?" Joe listened as Frank started talking. "Bess."

Joe clapped his hand to his face. He sighed in realization. "We forgot to call Bess and tell her not to come down."


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, or the characters associated with them.

Author's notes: Thank you for all the supportive reviews. As a warning, I'm not that confident that Carson is written well, but I had a really hard time writing him, so I hope it's sufficient.

* * *

Matters of the Heart Are Always More Important Than Matters of Impending Death

"So let me get this straight." Bess Marvin flipped her blond hair over her shoulder, looking to Frank in the airport terminal. "You and Joe brought me down here for a week of sun, fun, and cheering up Nancy, you forget to call and tell me not to come, so now you're gonna bring me up New York for an undefined amount of time of quite, hiding in the safe house because somebody is offering $100,000 to see her killed?"

Frank sighed, leaning his head back. "That's about it."

"And on top of keeping her from getting killed we still have to cheer her up?"

"Uh-huh."

"And we need to find a way to get you two together."

"I didn't say that!" Frank's head shot up. "We didn't even talk about me and Nancy. Where'd you get that from?"

"Frank." Bess gave him a pointed look. "You did talk about the two of you. A lot. You giving Nancy a massage, and then saving her life. You and Nancy talking a moonlit walk on the beach, very romantic I might add." Her eyes twinkled as she gushed.

"Bess…" Frank's cheeks reddened a little. "The massage was because she was hurt. There weren't any candles or oils that _you_ would use if you were making some pool boy give you one."

"You forget the rose petals. Having rose petals in the room is an essential part of the…never mind." Bess stopped herself at the look on Frank's face. "Fine. The massage doesn't count. But you still have the moonlit walk on the beach."

"We weren't exactly alone Bess. There was a police officer there guarding Nancy."

Bess blinked dubiously. "So if you had tried to kiss her he would have mistaken it for an attempt on her life and shot you?"

"Well no…but…"

"But nothing." Bess stood as an announcement for their flight was made. "You just don't know an opportunity--."

"Joe interrupted." Frank blurted in his own interruption, as he stood. He wanted this conversation over, and he wanted it over quickly. The easiest way to do that, was to get the focus off of him, and make sure that Bess knew he wasn't completely doing everything as wrong as she thought he was. "Twice. Joe interrupted when I was about to kiss her twice. Once at our house, and then on the beach. It's all Joe's fault."

"Well that puts a new spin on things. You were trying to kiss her?"

They got in line to board the plane and Frank sighed. Apparently the fact that someone wanted Nancy dead wasn't nearly as important as the fact that someone was trying to kiss her.

* * *

"I can't believe that the fight got postponed." Joe spoke as he entered the hotel room he and Nancy would be staying in overnight.

"Joe, it's not a big deal." Nancy placed her bag in the entryway. "It's just some mechanical problems. We're on the first flight out in the morning."

"You mean afternoon. The next flight is at noon." Joe pointed out. "And in the meantime your life is in my hands."

"Relax. You're a perfectly capable bodyguard. And it's not like I'm gonna be completely helpless should something happen."

"I know. But there's something about this situation that I don't like." Joe sighed, glancing around. "It seems a bit convenient that there was only room for the two of us on the flight here in the first place. And then our next flight has enough mechanical problems to postpone it until tomorrow, and then there's only one hotel room left in the entire town. Don't you think it's possible that whoever put this contract out on you is getting you alone in a specific place so it's easier to kill you?"

"First of all, I'm not alone. You're here. Second, do you actually think that this person is willing to put up $100,000 for my death and then put up thousands more to buy all but two seats on a flight, break down a plane, and then rent out nearly every hotel room in the city? In the hopes that someone will take up his offer and hunt me down?" Nancy stepped further into the room. "You know as well as I do that bad guys are way too greedy to put up that much money for one amateur detective."

Joe had to hand it to Nancy. She was handling the situation better than he would have thought considering what had been going on in her life. "Well, I still don't like the situation."

"Well nobody likes the situation when a friend has people wanting to kill them. Especially the friend." Nancy looked over. "I'm gonna call my dad on my cell to let him know that I'm not on the island anymore. And then I'm going to get some sleep. You should probably call your dad and do the same. Do you want the couch or the bed?" She gestured between the one queen size bed and the couch.

"You take the bed." Joe waved his hand in dismissal, pulling out his cell phone.

Nancy did the same, quickly dialing, and then sitting on the bed.

"Drew Residence." A tired voice answered.

"Dad, hi. Sorry to call so late." Nancy apologized and flopped back so her head was on the pillow.

"Nancy?" Carson sounded a little surprised. "What's going on?"

"Nothing big. I just thought you should know that I'm on my way to a new vacation spot with Frank and Joe."

"Where?"

"Actually I can't tell you that. For safety reasons."

"Safety reasons? What sort of safety reasons?"

"There's just this thing." Nancy trailed off.

Carson gained a warning tone. "Nancy…"

"There's a hit out on me."

"A hit on you."

"But it's not a big deal."

"Oh, it's not a big deal."

"They only want to give out $100,000 if I die."

"Nancy one of these days you are going to give me a heart attack. Calling me in the middle of the night, getting someone mad enough at you that they want you dead…"

"It's not my fault that these people go around breaking the law dad." Nancy put a hand to her face in exhaustion. "I have to get some rest."

"Yes, because you want to be well rested and at your sharpest when protecting yourself from killers."

"Glad you understand dad. If you have any questions, call Fenton Hardy."

"I'll be sure to do that."

"Be careful."

"I will."

"I love you."

"I love you too. I'll get in touch with you as soon as I can." She hung up the phone and sighed. "That was fun."

* * *

Joe lifted his head from the couch pillow, his light sleep disrupted by the noise of a loud rustling. "Nancy?" He called out, glancing around the room as his eyes adjusted to the dark. "Nancy?" His gaze landed on the bed, where the sheets were twisted around a thrashing figure. "Nancy?" He stood rubbing his face as he started to walk over. "Nancy?" He reached down and placed a hand on her arm.

"No!" Nancy gasped, her eyes shooting open, glancing frantically around and breathing heavily. She sat up and used one hand to move a strand of hair that was clinging to her face. "Joe? What's going on? Is everything all right?"

"Everything's fine. You were just having a nightmare." Joe informed her, removing his hand from her arm. "Are you OK?"

"Oh, yeah." Nancy nodded as her breathing started to regulate. "Sorry I woke you up."

"It's fine." Joe waved her off. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really."

"You sure?"

"Yeah…It was just a bad dream." Nancy assured. "Go back to sleep."

Joe nodded. "OK. Night."

"Night." Nancy untwisted the sheets some, and then laid back down, turning onto her side.

Joe had a feeling that it was more than just a bad dream. He had the feeling that it had to do with April but there was nothing to confirm these feelings. However, since he had them, he decided that leaving Nancy alone wasn't a good idea. Instead he went and sat in front of the wall at the foot of the bed, leaning his head back against it, intent on staying there to keep an eye on Nancy.

"Joe?"

By the way that she spoke softly, Joe knew that he had been found out. "Yeah Nance?"

"If you're going to insist on watching me all night to make sure I'm all right, you should at least come up on the bed where it's semi-comfortable." Nancy offered in a tired voice.

"Wow, a detective and a lady." Joe teased as he stood.

"Just get in the bed before I change my mind Joe."

"Right."

There was a silence as Joe climbed into the other side of the bed. The two detectives settled in to sleep for the rest of the night, and then Joe started to laugh.

"Joe what is so funny?" Nancy turned her head so it was facing him.

Joe tried to stop his laughter. "Nothing." But it didn't work very well and he started to laugh again. "It's just that…you're my brother's almost girlfriend."

Nancy sighed, turning her head back over. "Goodnight Joe."

* * *

"Now what do we do?" Bess asked as they stopped off the plane in Florida.

"Now we wait for the flight up to New York." Frank answered her quickly. "The terminal is down at the other end."

"Actually, you'll be coming with us." Three men stepped in front of Frank and Bess, each of them holding a gun that was just pointing out from beneath their coats. "I'm sure you won't have any arguments will you?"


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, or the characters associated with them.

Author's Notes: Thank you for the reviews. I especially appreciate those of you who offered your critique on my Carson, it really helped.

* * *

For a Detective You're Not That Smart. Did You Miss Physics Class Or Something?

Frank and Bess were compliant when it came to what the men told them to do. They followed them out to their van, and sat in the back obediently while one of the men tied their hands behind them. Both knew enough to know that they needed to wait for the right moment.

This was all completed in mostly silence, until they were driving, when the kidnapper who had spoken to them in the airport, began to talk. "You don't have to worry about your luggage. It's being picked up by some of my associates." He was coming across as almost congenial, the opposite of what he had been inside. Neither Bess, nor Frank answered him. "Come on now, just because we're kidnapping you doesn't mean we can't be friends. I think you'll find the accommodations that we'll be keeping you in are rather nice, all things considered."

"I'm not exactly in the habit of becoming friends with my kidnappers." Bess huffed indignantly, sending a glare his way.

"Oh relax, we're not going to hurt you." He laughed a bit. "The guns were just for a bit of show. How else would we have gotten you to come with us?"

"Asking is always a nice option." Bess continued her attempt at instigating him.

"But if we told you that we were just going to hold you until your friend turns herself over to us, I doubt you would have come along."

That was when it hit Frank that this was still about Nancy. They had taken them to get to her. He knew that meant in all likelihood, that she and Joe were still in the city, and not in New York like the should have been. This wasn't good. But he could make the best out of it. "What do you want with Nancy?"

The kidnapper turned around in his seat, as he wasn't the one driving. "Don't tell me you're that dumb. My background check told me that you're a detective like she is."

"Frank, I think he's probably looking to get in on that money promised for Nancy's death."

"I know that." Frank sighed. A minute into his plan and already things weren't working in his favor.

"Actually I'm the one who offered to pay the money. But that offer expired once you all started to leave the island."

"Why do you want Nancy dead?" Frank tried again, asking his question far more specifically. He was doing his best not to let the surprise that he was talking to the man who had started this particular mess of a vacation, show.

"I don't think that I care to share that with you." And his somewhat friendly attitude disappeared. He grabbed Bess' purse that they had taken from her upon her entrance of the van and started to rifle through it, not stopping until he pulled out her cell phone, that was covered by a pink faceplate. "Oh look, I wonder who we'll be able to call on this."

* * *

Joe and Nancy stood in the hotel lobby, waiting in line to check out and go back to the airport. They hadn't spoken about the events of the previous night, both having the unspoken agreement, that it was to be unspoken about. "I guess all of my worrying was for nothing. Nothing's happened." Joe commented to her. "And the bright side of all of this is that we'll actually be meeting up with Frank and Bess." Nancy was about to respond, but her cell phone rang. "Take it. It could be important." Joe told her.

She nodded, and pulled the phone from her pocket. "Hello?" She answered, stepping away from the line as she did so.

Joe waited in line as he watched her talk for about a minute. The line was about to move when she returned, her face white. "Who was it?" He asked quickly.

"We need to cancel the flight." Nancy informed him. "And extend our stay here."

"What do you mean? It's not safe Nance." Joe watched her in concern, noting the difference in her appearance; she was suddenly more tired and upset looking. "Are you OK?" When she didn't answer, he stepped out of line, and took her by the arm, leading her to a chair that sat unoccupied. "Here, sit down." He forced her to sit and then knelt down next to her. "What's going on?"

"Someone kidnapped Frank and Bess." Nancy told him after taking a deep breath.

"How do you know?"

"Whoever it was…just called me."

Joe breathed a bit of a sigh of relief. For a moment he had been worried, but this appeared to be pretty obvious. "Nance, it was probably just someone trying to keep you in the city. The longer you're here the easier it'll be to track you down. I'm sure Frank and Bess are fine." He tried to assure.

"They called me from Bess' phone."

OK so maybe it wasn't as open and shut as he thought. It could potentially be a problem.

"All they said was that they had them, and that for now they would be safe. And that they'd e-mail you in a minute with proof that they have them and demands."

Joe decided he was going to take charge. "Come on. We'll go upstairs and get the e-mail and then we'll see what there is to do. We'll worry about the hotel and flight stuff later."

* * *

Frank looked over to Bess. They had been left in the van for a moment while their captors went into the house they were parked in front of, claiming that they were preparing it for their guests. In captors defense, they weren't completely stupid; the door locks had been modified slightly, and could only be locked or unlocked from outside. "How are you doing?" He asked quietly, adjusting his bound hands behind his back.

"Peachy. I just love getting kidnapped. Especially when I'm wearing my new cute skirt."

Frank sighed. Sarcasm was not what he was looking for at the moment. "I actually I was wondering if you were up for a run."

Bess gave him a look. "The doors aren't about to open."

"I know. But they're going to bring us inside in a minute. In all likelihood they're going to put us in separate rooms. They know I'm a detective, and they know that you've been helping Nancy for a long time, so you're bound to know a thing or two." Frank began to explain. "They're also probably going to be guarding me a lot more extensively than they are you, I pose a bigger threat.

"Once they leave you alone, you need to escape. You stand a better shot of getting out than I do."

"And if I get caught I stand a better shot of getting shot."

"I don't think they'll hurt you Bess. They only want Nancy, and the only way they're going to get her is if we're both alive and unharmed."

"OK, so let's say I pull off this whole escape thing. Then what?"

"Call Joe and Nancy, and meet up with them. Then get the police involved."

"And bring the police here to get you?"

"Well, yeah. But these guys aren't that dumb. Once you're gone, I'm the only bargaining chip, and you know where I am. Most likely I'll be moved."

"Then what would the point of me escaping be?"

"Well, first of all, you won't be any immediate danger. Second, Joe's gonna need your help to keep Nancy from doing anything stupid."

"What constitutes something stupid?"

"Trying to give the kidnappers what they want."

* * *

Joe sat impatiently in front of the laptop, refreshing his e-mail page every few seconds. Nancy was pacing behind him. They had been following this routine for about five minutes. Joe clicked the refresh button once more, and something was finally there. "Hey it's here." He announced, opening the e-mail quickly.

Nancy stopped pacing and hurried over. "What does it say?"

The first thing in the e-mail was a picture, of Frank and Bess sitting in the back of a van, both looking unharmed. Then there was the message that Joe was already reading. "They're not going to hurt them if you show up, alone in the parking lot of the Aquatic Complex, at 2:45 this afternoon. If you show up, they'll be released. If you don't show up, the consequences will be bad. It's your usual ransom stuff without the money. This must be from the guy who wants you dead." He turned around to find Nancy pulling on a sweatshirt. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to the Aquatic Complex."

"If you go there, they'll kill you."

"And if I don't they kill Bess and your brother."

"Nancy this is crazy. I'm all for saving Frank and Bess but this isn't the way to do it." He stood and walked over to Nancy, grabbing her arms and forcing her to look at him. "Let's just call the police and see what they can do."

"The police can't do anything." Nancy pulled her arms free, and stepped away from him. "They couldn't do anything for April, and they aren't going to be able to do anything here."

When it hit Joe that this was why Nancy was so upset, it made perfect sense. She had just gone through a bad kidnapping case, of course it would be a problem. It also made him feel even stronger about his stand point. "Nancy, you're acting crazy." He grabbed her again, this time keeping a stronger grip on them. "The police will be able to trace the e-mail and find out where this guy is."

" Joe you know that's not true. If he has any brains at all he didn't use a computer anywhere near where he is. Or he rerouted it. Our only chance of getting them back, is if I go now, and see what they want."

"They want you dead."

"They haven't been successful at killing me yet." Nancy struggled against Joe's hold. "Now let me go! I'm going to get Frank and Bess back."

"You can't go there Nancy."

"Joe, it's my decision. Now let me go!"

"I'm only letting you go if you promise that you aren't going to try and go to the Aquatic Complex."

"Fine. I won't try to go to the Aquatic Complex. I promise." Nancy had said the sentence angrily and unconvincingly, so she was still pulling away from Joe when he released her arms. Unprepared for the momentum she went careening backwards, hitting her head on the corner of the wall and then slumping to the floor, unconscious.

Joe's eyes grew wide, and he rushed forward. He sighed, realizing she was just unconscious. "I guess that's one way of keeping you from going."


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, or the characters associated with them.

Author's Notes: Thank you reviewers. I'm so sorry about the delay. I had writer's block, and then I had to go to a competition with my chorus and the fallback of missing school put off everything else. I'm very sorry, but I hope these updates will make up for it.

* * *

Being Under Pressure Isn't as Fun as the Song Made it Sound

Bess walked into the hotel elevator as if she owned it. Frank had been right. Escaping from the room the kidnapper's had placed her in had been easy. There was a window, left unlocked, next to a tree. All it had taken was a lady-like shimmy down the tree trunk, and a short jog through the neighbor's yard, and she had been free. Afterwards a quick phone call from a payphone had led her to Joe and Nancy's location, bringing her to where she was now, exiting the elevator and walking down the hall, straight to the room number that Joe had given to her. Raising her fist she rapped her knuckles against the door.

After a moment the door opened and Joe appeared, pulling her into a quick hug before stepping back. "You all right?" This was his only greeting. Her safety was more important than a courteous greeting.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Bess nodded. "This was probably the easiest kidnapping I've had in a while."

Joe smiled a little more at her ease. "So Frank's all right?" Then came his concern for his brother; that was what played second fiddle in his mind.

"The last time I saw him." She confirmed, trying to peek her head into the room. "Where's Nancy?"

"She's um…" Joe ushered Bess out of the room, stepping out with her and leaving the door open a slight crack. "She's resting."

"Oh."

Joe slipped into detective mode. Now he needed to learn everything he could about the situation. "So what happened?"

"We got in at the airport, three guys flashed their guns, and told us it was in our best interest to go with them, so we did."

"And then what happened? Did they talk to you at all or…"

"One of them." Bess started to play with her, pulling it away from her face. "He was really friendly. He kept trying to get us to talk. He also made it pretty clear from the beginning that getting us was all a way to get Nancy."

Joe thought for a moment. He had pretty much already gotten that the kidnapping had been to get to Nancy. It had been pretty obvious when the ransom note had arrived. But why the kidnapper had been friendly was a mystery to him. It was always his experience that kidnapper's hated it when their captives spoke, so why they were trying to get them to talk confused him. Everything else about the case made sense. "What else? Everything's important at this point."

* * *

Nancy slowly opened her eyes to find herself on the bed, alone, with a bit of a throbbing headache. After a brief moment, she remembered the fight with Joe, and then flying back into the wall. It was with a bit of realization that she came to the conclusion that Joe had moved her. Recalling the argument made her think a bit, causing her to wonder where Joe was if he was so concerned about her leaving. And then she heard the voices.

"There really isn't much else. Frank said they'd move him once they realized I was gone."

It was Bess. Nancy sat bolt upright, putting a hand to her head briefly at the slight dizziness that the abrupt movement had caused.

"Yeah by now they've probably brought him to the Aquatic Complex. That's where they want to meet Nancy."

That was Joe talking. Nancy quickly put things together as she stood. Bess was in the hall, talking to Joe. This meant that Bess had escaped the kidnappers. Frank was still being held by them, and that was a problem, but she had an idea. As Bess started to talk again, she stood.

"Frank said we had to be sure she doesn't do that."

"I know. She's really stubborn though. I'm gonna need your help when she wakes up."

Nancy crept quietly across the room, towards the back of the room where there was a door to the balcony. "Too late." She whispered a little regretfully. It wasn't that she wanted to leave and freak Joe out even more, but she couldn't just sit back and let Frank remain with the kidnappers. She made a decision as she looked down the building. It was a really easy climb. She could make it in a matter of moments…they were only on the third floor. With a quick sigh, she shut the balcony door loudly and started to hoist herself over the balcony.

* * *

Joe's head turned away from Bess when he heard the door slam from within the hotel room. "Wait here." He gave only a quick utterance of warning to Bess as he shoved the door open and dashed inside the room. The first thing he noticed was that Nancy was no longer in the bed where he had placed her. Instead of taking the time to think over this, he moved to the door of the balcony that he had heard close, tearing it open and stepping outside. Glancing down he saw a red-headed figure step away from the building, turn and begin to run. He didn't have to look twice to know who it was. "Nancy!" He shouted after her in a slightly angry tone. "Nancy!" He put his hands down on the railing with a sigh. He wasn't mad at her; he would have easily snuck out to go after Frank if she had been trying to keep him there. He was furious with himself.

"Joe, what's going on?" Bess questioned quietly from behind him. "Where's Nancy?"

Bess' statement was just another tiny blow to Joe's ego. Even she hadn't listened to him. Not that he had expected her to, but saying things like that was habit. "She just climbed down the building." He informed turning around to face his blond friend. "I think she's on her way to the Aquatic Complex." There was a silence as he stepped into the room. It allowed him to think more about everything. And the more he thought the angrier he got with everything. "Damn it!" He turned again, slapping his hand against the wall, leaving it there as he leaned his forehead against it.

"Joe, it's not your fault." Bess informed, gently putting a hand on his shoulder. It was easy to read what was bothering him. For her anyways. She prided herself on being able to read the emotions of men.

"I know." He turned, running a hand through his hair. "I know that no matter what she would have found a way to get there."

"Then what's wrong? We go down to the Aquatic Complex and get her and your brother."

"It was my job to make sure she didn't get down there." Joe grabbed his jacket off the back of a chair. "They weren't going to hurt Frank as long as they didn't have her. And now that she's going down there the likelihood of them both getting caught and killed has…exponentially increased."

"And how often have they been in this situation?" Bess challenged.

"A ton. But never when the fallout of whatever happens was gonna fall on my shoulders." Joe slipped into his coat, his eyes settling on Bess. "Somehow I ended up as the adult in this situation Bess. My brother, and one of my best friends are in a bad situation and now I have to get them out of it. That's a lot of pressure."

"You've always been able to handle pressure, Joe. It's the key point of being a Hardy. You're great at it." Bess encouraged putting hands on his shoulders. "This is what you signed on for."

Joe glared a little. "You know I hate that you're right."

"Well I have to be." Bess smiled at his frustration. "This vacation is not over and this vacation was for Nancy's meltdown. Not yours. Now let's go and get her, and your brother, and then we can hook them up."

Joe laughed feeling less stress after the joke. "It's always gonna be about that with you isn't?"

"Well somebody has to keep their mind on what's important."

* * *

The cab that had brought Nancy to the Aquatic Center had barely left her standing in the parking lot when she saw a man, holding onto another man's arm, and standing at the foot of one dock. "Ms. Drew, if you would be so kind as to come over here." The man doing the holding shouted. It was then that she knew the other man was Frank, and that she would have to go over there. 


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, or the characters associated with them.

Author's notes: We're closing in on the end. I can feel it.

* * *

I Decided I Wanted to be With You When I Was in Bed With Your Brother

Nancy ignored the man holding Frank completely as she approached. "Are you all right?" She asked quietly when she got close enough. She had thought about it on the ride there. If she was going to get killed, she was going to get killed. She wasn't happy about it but there wasn't exactly a way around death. So if she was going to die, she was going to die dignified and on her terms.

"I'm fine." He spoke just as quietly, watching her eyes.

"I had no idea you would be so compliant Ms. Drew. Had I known this entire ordeal would have been much shorter." The man informed in a slightly cheery voice. "Now, if you and Mr. Hardy would come with me, we'll get this show on the road." He grabbed her arm, so he was holding her on one side, and Frank on the other.

They started walking down a dock past what seemed to be a countless number of boats in a long silence. Both detectives knew that it wasn't the time to talk to their captor; yes he was relatively open with his discussion, but it wasn't the right time to get to the full story. From what both of them could tell, they still had a bit of time before he attempted anything.

But when they turned from the dock into the slip that held a boat. "Climb aboard, lady, and gentleman." He put them on the boat first. "And step below deck."

They followed the instructions well, stopping when they were actually below deck and turning to face the man. "So…why do you want me dead?" Nancy asked frankly, crossing her arms over her chest. She wasn't trying to appear tough or to protect herself, at least consciously. The action was merely a habit.

"That's a little personal Ms. Drew. I was hoping we would at least have time for a drink before we got down to that." He revealed now that he had a gun; he was holding it one hand. "Have a seat on that bench there, Mr. Hardy." He gestured with the gun. "I'm going to have a little talk with Ms. Drew, and get her situated. If you make any false moves while I am doing so I will not hesitate to shoot her, followed closely by you." Frank complied, sitting on the bench, watching the man and Nancy intently, as the man grabbed Nancy's arm and pulled her to the mast that was standing in the room. "You sit right here Ms. Drew" As she lowered herself to the floor, he grabbed a coil of rope that was next to her. The gun remained trained on her. "Now…My name is Mr. Swenson. Do you have any idea what that means?"

Nancy knew the name didn't jump out at her, but didn't want to let him know that. She thought for a brief second before answering, with a cool, and calculated guess. "Swenson sounds like a name that my father has worked with. Were you a client of his?"

"No. But you are very close Ms. Drew. I applaud your attempt." He stepped behind her, pulling her arms back around the pole, starting to tie them. "Your father had me put into jail a long time ago when he was still a district attorney. He was under the impression that I had robbed some people of some very important things, and killed someone while attempting it."

"I'm very sorry but I'm going to have to agree with him on this conviction." Nancy inhaled sharply as he pulled the rope tight.

"It must be a family trait this…jumping to conclusions. You see I really am a very nice person." Now her hands were tied.

Frank rolled his eyes a little. "You could have fooled me with that one."

The man shook his head a little. "Don't be fooled by this. This is simply a little revenge. He took away 18 years of my life." He stepped back examining the knots, and then pulling them a little tighter. "That will do nicely."

"18 years sounds like a short amount of time for the crimes you described." Nancy remarked.

"Yes well…your turn Mr. Hardy." Swenson grabbed Frank's arm, and forced him to stand, leading him over to a row of low sitting cabinets, where more rope was sitting. He forced Frank to sit, and took one arm, starting to bind it to the handle of the cabinet. "I said your father put me into jail. He did a horrible job at the sentencing. The jury was rather lenient. I started to have the option of parole at fifteen years. I was released recently. And I decided since he took away 18 years of my life, I will take away 18 years of his life."

As he moved on to the second hand, Frank tested the binding, finding that it was tight and the cabinet was locked. "That seems a little twisted, if you ask me."

"It's perfectly logical I assure you." Swenson said.

"Yeah, Dad put 18 years of his life raising me."

"Exactly Ms. Drew." Swenson stepped back, once Frank was thoroughly bound. "It's amazing how fast you catch on." He paused standing up straight. "We'll be setting sail very shortly and at some point during our voyage I'll be leaving you. I'm going to step on outside now." He started to the stairs.

"Wait!" Nancy called, stopping him.

He turned in his tracks. "Yes, Ms. Drew?"

"You said in the e-mail if I gave myself over to you that you would let Frank go."

"Your point Ms. Drew?" Swenson raised an eyebrow at her, gesturing with the hand that held the gun.

"Tying him up isn't letting him go."

Swenson hesitated for a moment. "Technically I said I would let him and Ms. Marvin go. And Ms. Marvin is already gone."

"Well Frank's still here." Nancy pointed out quickly.

"Mr. Hardy on his own was never part of the deal. I'm afraid your argument holds no merit. Besides, it's always better when things are nice and even." Swenson started back down the stairs. "You know, I've decided that I don't really have time for the whole setting sail thing. Here…" He stepped next to Nancy crouching down towards the blanket that was near her on one side. "Let's make you a bit more comfortable." He removed the blanket, tossing it away, and revealing a bomb. He pressed one button, and the timer started, blinking in a red digital text, five minutes. "There you go." He stood. "I'm afraid I can't stay and chat or anything, but I'm sure that you two have plenty you can talk about."

Nancy and Frank watched him walk up the stairs. As his figure disappeared, Nancy hung her head, sighing. "This is so not the day to get knocked out by a wall." She muttered.

"What was that?" Frank asked her, starting to pull against the rope binding his hands to the cabinets. "You got knocked out by a wall."

"I fell into the wall, and hit my head." Nancy explained, lifting her head and starting on her hands. "It knocked me out for a little while."

"Oh." Frank paused trying to picture this. He couldn't. "How did you fall into the wall?" In addition to soothing his curiosity he was also keeping focus off of the bomb. Focusing on it would add too much stress to the situation.

"I was fighting your brother so I could go get you and Bess."

"So Joe threw you into a wall."

"You could think of it that way."

"Where is my brother by the way?"

"He's probably on his way here. I kind of snuck out while he was in the hall talking to Bess." Nancy bit her lip, tugging roughly on the rope. "I doubt he's ever going to volunteer to be my bodyguard again." This was one of the next tricks of keeping things light. Don't mention the dangerous situation at all.

"Yeah if he gives you any trouble you just send him to me and I'll beat him up for you."

Nancy laughed a little. She was starting to make the tiniest bit of leeway with her bindings. She glanced over at the clock. Three minutes and thirty seconds glared back at her. A stroke of panic coursed through her body.

"How's it going?" Frank asked as though sensing her sudden nervousness.

"I'm staring to get through the knots." Nancy informed. "You?"

"No luck." He looked away from his hands. "I can barely get at the knot."

"Hold on…I'll be able to help in a second." Her fingers started to work more furiously, and the knot seemed to unwind and loosen around her hands quickly, falling away from her wrists. "There." She glanced over at the clock. Two minutes and forty-five seconds. Without wasting another moment she stood and hurried over Frank, kneeling in front of him. "Hey there." She greeted smiling a bit, setting her hands to work quickly on the first knot. "You don't happen to know where a girl can find herself some knots to untie do you?"

"I might have a few." Frank offered the smile back towards her.

Nancy worked in silence for the next moments, struggling through the knots in a close proximity with him. Finally she couldn't take it, and started to talk again. "So you know how we agreed that we were going to ignore the whole kitchen/beach incident?" She asked.

"Yeah." Frank nodded slowly, watching her hands work at the knot.

"Well it occurred to me last night that I don't really want that. I want this." One of his hands fell away, the knot untied, and she used her hands to cup his face, pulling him into a kiss.

When they broke away, Frank exhaled deeply. "I…want that too." He agreed. "But I also would really love if we could get out of here before the boat blows up." He broke the cardinal rule by mentioning the potential disaster, and the mood they just had was completely killed. Nancy took it in stride, nodding and setting back to work, but he knew that everything was more serious now. Especially when he glanced over at the decreasing timer. Forty-five seconds. "Nancy, go. Get off the boat now." He spoke sternly, as though giving it as a command would work better.

"No." Nancy shook her head. "I'm almost done."

"You don't have time to finish. Go find Joe. I'll be fine"

They both knew it was a lie, but Nancy could do very little to protest. "OK…I'm going." She stopped the knot, leaned over to kiss his cheek and then stood, but didn't move.

Frank glanced at the clock again. 25 seconds. "Nancy go. Now."

"I love you." Nancy said the words before turning and hurrying up the stairs, following Frank's orders.

She didn't hear his response. "I love you too."

* * *

Nancy collided into Joe as she started running down the dock away from the boat sending the both down to the dock skidding a bit as the boat she had been running from exploded in a ball of fire behind her.

* * *

No that's not the end…of the story. But it is the end of the chapter. I know. I'm bad. I do promise it will be a quicker update than last time. 


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, or the characters associated with them.

Author's notes: Well…we have come upon the conclusion of our epic journey. Unfortunately that time has come. At this time I would like to thank all the reviewers for all of your kind words.

I would also like to clear up a question that was asked of me.

The title of the story, Human, came from two sources, the first of which was the conflict that Nancy was struggling with the entire story in realizing that she wasn't a super-human that could save everyone. The second of the sources was the song "Human" by Josh Joplin Group.

And now…without any further distraction…the conclusion of Human.

* * *

And Now Back to Our Vacation...No. I Said Vacation Not Case... Yes There is a Big Difference...OK Maybe There's Not

Only a second after the explosion Nancy pushed herself up and off of Joe, turning and starting to run towards the now burning boat. Not more than three or four steps into the run her foot caught on the dock, sending her down to collide with it. She grunted as she landed, splinters digging into her palms and knees. She struggled to get to her feet, but the first attempt failed miserably and she fell back down. It was in the middle of her second attempt that she felt strong arms encase her around her shoulders. Nancy knew that it was Joe before he even spoke. It was rational that it would be Joe; it was the only rational thought in her head.

"Nancy, calm down." Joe spoke through clenched teeth as he held the struggling detective in a situation that was all too familiar to him. She didn't need to say anything for him to know that Frank was on the boat. Her reaction was enough. "There's nothing you can do."

Nancy pulled herself away from him falling forward once more. "No! We can still get to him!" She made the statement with her voice straining against her emotion as she finally made it to her feet. "We can still save him!" She tried to run forward again, but her feet still weren't completely compliant.

Joe was on his feet just as quickly, his arms wrapping around her form before she could fall again, pulling her upwards so she would still remain on her feet. "No Nance, we can't." He wrapped his arms even tighter against her struggling. His eyes caught site of the burning wreckage and he could feel his heart sink even further, his throat tighten, and tears pool in his eyes. "There's nothing we can do. Frank is…he's gone."

She only tried to pull away until his sentence was completed. Then her body went slack in acceptance. "It was supposed to be me." She spoke softly, turning to face Joe while still in his arms. "I'm the one who was supposed to be on the boat." Nancy put her hands against his chest, her head landing in between them.

Joe started to lower her to the ground carefully. It was partially for her, because he doubted how long her strength would hold out, and partially for himself, because he could feel his own legs weakening as the situation became more and more real. As he sat he moved one hand so it was pressing against the back of her head, holding her closer. He could feel her tears starting to soak through his t-shirt, and he wanted to be able to say something to help her, but as each second passed he himself got further and further from any reality.

"Hey who died?"

Nancy pulled her head away slightly at the familiar voice. "You did." Her head came fully away, and she turned towards the water, the source of the voice. "Oh my god! Frank!" She pushed away from Joe once more.

Joe turned just as quickly, looking to the water where he could see, hanging on the edge of the dock, his brother. A weight lifted off his body and he felt a huge smile go across his face. Frank had a cut or two on his forehead that were bleeding, but he was alive, which was a big step forwards from where he was only moments before. He watched with great relief as Nancy slipped over the edge of the dock and into the water, so she was treading water next to his brother, and then pulled him into a kiss.

The kiss lasted for a few moments before Nancy pulled away, bringing one hand out of the water and using it to slap Frank. It wasn't at her full strength, but she knew it was enough to sting a little. "If you ever scare me like that again I swear I will kill you myself."

As soon as the sentence was out of her mouth Frank was pulling her into a hug. "Well if I ever scare myself like that again I'll probably have to let you." He paused, looking at her tearstained face. "Hey…I told you I was gonna be fine."

"Yeah, well, it's my turn to be human for a while." Nancy offered, wiping her face ineffectively. "How did you even pull this one off?"

Frank released her from his arms starting to pull himself up unto the dock. "I was almost untied when you left, and I had some pretty good motivation to finish the job. Once that was done I broke my way through that window and I swam." Once on the dock he reached over and started to pull Nancy up.

Police and other officials were starting to swarm the dock, but it wasn't bothering the three detectives as they were reuniting. As soon as Nancy was on the dock Frank stood and found his brother, offering him a hug. "Hey, you're getting me wet." Joe remarked although the contact was more than welcome."

"I think you can deal Joe."

* * *

A day and a half later Bess, Joe, Frank, and Nancy were sitting on a Florida beach. Joe was sitting in one chair, watching a game of football being played in front of him, and debating with himself if he wanted to join or not. Frank and Nancy were lying on a towel, with Nancy leaning her head against Frank's chest. They were both reading. Bess was sitting in another chair, simply closing her eyes and tanning. "See? This is how you relax and spend a vacation." She informed. "Right guys?" But she didn't get a direct answer.

"Did you hear that?" Nancy was the one to ask the question but both she and Frank sat up.

"Uh guys?" Bess pulled her sunglasses off.

Frank scanned the beach. "There." He stopped and pointed towards a woman who appeared very distressed.

Bess sat up and spoke in a warning tone. "I don't like where this is going."

"That guy stole my purse!" The woman they were watching yelled.

Joe was the first to be out of his seat and chasing after the man she had pointed too.

"This is not proper vacationing behavior!" Bess yelled after him with a roll of her eyes.

Nancy laughed a little as she watched Joe tackle the pickpocket. "Bess, by now you should have realized that when you vacation with us this is what you get."

* * *

The end.

To clear one thing up about Swenson, he was caught. Joe and Bess called the police and had them meet them at the Aquatic Center and Bess pointed Swenson out to them and he was arrested. This took place right before the explosion. I couldn't find away to fit the explanation in without killing the mood of the scene so I just added it here.

I would also like to add a final thank you to all reviewers.

Thoughts on the story?


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